


The Stow-On-Side Siblings

by PumpkabooSunset



Series: The Stow-On-Side Siblings [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Adopted Siblings, Allister is Eight, Allister is anxious younger brother, Allister is shy boy, Bea is Thirteen, Bea is called Beatrice but hates it, Bea is nice big sister, Chapter Eight is the definition of Sibling Fluff, Chapters are kind of oneshots but kind of not at the same time, Galar - Freeform, Gen, Headcanon, I did not research orphanages at all, Milo Gordie and Klara appear a little, Onion | Allister and Saitou | Bea are Siblings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sibling Fluff, The Stow-On-Side Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29140806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkabooSunset/pseuds/PumpkabooSunset
Summary: Allister and another boy get adopted into Bea's family. Four years later, Bea and Allister are living alone, away from her strict parents.Bea tries her hardest to be a good big sister, and Allister tries his hardest to be a good Gym Leader.Allister knows he can count on Bea. She knows that he looks up to her. They know they can count on eachother.Together, they are happy.
Relationships: Onion | Allister & Saitou | Bea
Series: The Stow-On-Side Siblings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142570
Comments: 36
Kudos: 20





	1. Prologue: The Beggining of a New Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism welcome!
> 
> Will hopefully upload every Friday.
> 
> Hello, readers! I am going to read over old chapters and fix any mistakes. Spelling ones and grammar ones. Enjoy reading!

'Beatrice, look at the news.'

It was spring, and the Saitou family were sitting around their TV.

I'm looking, mother.' Bea replied.

'Today there was an accident on the motorway of Stow-On-Side. We don't know many details, but we suspect that it was a cargo truck. The only survivor is a small boy, who was protected by his parent's Pokémon. The Pokémon is now dead.' the news reporter reported, her face serious and emotionless. 

'You see, Beatrice, this is what happens when you let idiots drive cars. Or trucks, in this case.' Bea's father growled, glaring at the screen.

Bea agreed with him. 

She felt a sliver of pity for the boy, but she shook it off. Why should she worry about a boy she doesn't even know?

* * *

It had been a month since Allister was sent to the orphanage. He didn't have any family that were alive, other than his father's brother, who found him creepy and didn't want anything to do with him.

He sighed and hugged his knees. Today has been tough.

The orphanage was a nice and cosy one, run by volunteers and an old couple.

People were scared of Allister at first, since he had dark gray hair and he wore a mask made out of a Galarian Corsola's shell. He wore it for anxiety reasons, made even worse because of what happened.

His purple eyes were visible through the mask, which unsettled some people, but he didn't care. A Mimikyu had been attracted to him, and the two quickly became close friends.

The orphanage weren't too keen, but the friendship the two had created was too cute for them to separate them. They told him he could keep Mimikyu as long as it didn't cause any trouble. 

Allister was fine with this, as Mimikyu wasn't that kind of Pokémon. He liked battles, but didn't like to make mischief. 

Unlike Allister.

Allister was shy, jumpy and fearful, yet he was really mischievous. He got into trouble a lot, but he mostly hid in his room afterwards since he didn't like people shouting at him.

Today, he had just got into trouble. He had scared the Indeedee who worked there, which he didn't mean to do. He was just hiding in a cupboard because he got scared.

He had run and hid in his room, trying to be as silent as he could be.

He made sure that the door said do not disturb, but they usually ignored it anyway...

One of the volunteers, Amy, knocked on his door and he froze.

'Allister! Why did you do that?' she called out. When she got no reply, she sighed. 'Al, I'm not mad at you or anything. You probably didn't mean to scare them like that.'

He nodded even though she couldn't see him. 'W-Was just hidin' in t' cupboard. They opened it 'n g-got scared.'

Amy had to press her ear against the door to hear what he said.

'You were hiding in the cupboard? Wow, I didn't know you could fit in there. It was an empty one, right?'

'...Mhm…'

'Ok, phew. Didn't want you getting hurt. Anyway, dinner's ready.' She put her hand on her chin. 'Although, you may not want to eat right now…'

Allister nodded. 'Y-Yeah. Not h-hungry.' 

His Mimikyu came out from under his wardrobe and jumped up onto his lap. Allister stroked its rag gently.

'Alright then. Well, see you soon I guess!' called Amy. Allister jumped at the unexpected change of tone and dug his nails into Mimikyu.

Mimikyu didn't care. He just made a soothing purring noise and nuzzled into his trainer.

 _I'm worried about him,_ though Amy as she walked down the stairs. _Doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to socialise much, hides a lot, cries a lot, panics a lot… Poor kid._

Allister gently pushed Mimikyu off his lap and he got up, walking towards his window.

He loved the moon and the stars. It was like the moonlight recharged him. He didn't really like the sun, plus ghost-types preferred the dark. He loved ghosts.

He let Mimikyu jump up onto his head, flattening the strand of hair that always stood up and curled. 

The two friends looked at the moon together, smiling as they saw a shooting star.

'Look, Mimikyu! A s-shooting star! L-Let's make a w-wish. Hmm…' Allister mused. 'I know! How 'bout I wish f'... My p-parents t' be back…'

He sighed and a tear trickled down his cheek. 'N-never m-mind, they're g-gone f'ever…' More tears appeared. They fell out of the bottom of his mask onto his arm, making him feel temporarily warmer. 

Mimikyu stared at him with sad eyes. He patted him on the back with a long black claw.

* * *

'Beatrice,' said her father, 'We're going to visit the orphanage today.'

The Saitou family were sat in their dining room, wearing their nightclothes and eating their breakfast.

Bea tilted her head slightly, muesli falling off her spoon. 'Alright, but why?'

Bea's mother sighed. 'We're thinking of adopting a strong kid who we can train.'

'Oh? That sounds like a good idea. I will go after breakfast, Father, if I can.'

'I know it feels a bit random, dear, but me and your father have been thinking about this for a while.' 

Bea nodded at him. 'Alright. I can go- Wait a minute, I forgot that I need to fill out that form the league sent me.'

* * *

After her breakfast, Bea put on some clean clothes and made her way to the orphanage. 

Her parents were already there, she just had to finish applying to be a Gym Leader before she could go.

'I wonder if there are any strong children there.' she asked herself out loud.

'I'd assume they'd be weak, because some have lost parents like that boy on the news, but I bet there are a few strong ones there.'

When she arrived, she looked it up and down. The large red brick building was old, plants covering the outside of it like veins. It looked homely, which was weird for a town like Stow-On-Side.

Pushing open the door, Bea breathed in the air of fresh bread rolls and cereal. She had to try hard not to smile. 

Her parents weren't in the reception area. She assumed they had already gone in, so she started walking towards the front desk.

It was empty. She looked around to see if there was a bell anywhere on it. There was, so she tapped on it and it made a small tinkle sound. She pushed it harder this time, it ringing out louder.

A teenage girl with brown hair ran out of a door. 'Ah, you're Beatrice, hmm?' Amy asked her. 'Your parents said you would come.'

Bea nodded. 'Yes. I am. Have they already picked a child?'

'They want them all to battle to see how strong they are! Isn't that crazy? The youngest we have here is four, which is super duper young! Imagine forcing little kiddies to fight.' Amy frowned.

Bea shrugged. 'I think it's fine.' she replied, giving Amy a slightly confused look. 'Isn't that normal?'

Amy shook her head. 'Nope! Not at all. Anyway, I'll take you to your parents.'

Bea followed her out the reception and looked around the room in surprise. It was bright, colourful and homely, with loads of toys and books scattered about the place.

All the children were sitting around an old woman. She was reading them a book. They were all fidgeting as kids do, however one of them looked more nervous than anyone Bea had seen in her life.

Bea's parents were watching them, their arms crossed. When they noticed that Bea had entered, they glared at her.

'Beatrice, you took your time getting here.' her father scolded her.

'I apologise, father. It took ages to fill out the Gym Leader sign-up form, but I am here now.' 

Bea was about to stand next to them, but they got up and started walking towards a door.

'We'll be in the hall if you need us. We'll be talking about things we want to see in a child.' Bea's mother told her.

Amy came up to her once they had left the room. 'Blimey, they're as cold as the basement's floor!'

Bea once again shrugged slightly in response. 'They're just being good parents.' 

'I bet they are, but they're a little too harsh on you. How old are you?' 

'I'm nine.'

'You don't look it! Blimey, I thought you were at least twelve.' Amy looked at her mouth and realised she wasn't smiling. She wasn't even sure if she had seen her smile even once at all.

'Do you even smile at all?'

'Of course.'

'Then why don't you do it now?'

'Can you please stop asking me questions..?'

Amy felt her face going hot. 'Oh! Sure. Umm… Maybe you could get to know someone here? Maybe your parents will adopt them.' 

A boy turned around.

'Don't bother with Allister,'' he said, 'He's very nervous and jumpy. And he stutteres a lot! How annoying is that?'

He glared at Allister. He responded by burying his masked face into his knees. 

'I think he looks alright.' replied Bea. 'He looks a bit creepy but other than that he doesn't look too bad.'

Amy smiled at her. 'Yeah, he's a sweet kid. He… was that kid in the… crash but he's very nice once you get to know him.' 

Allister perked up at this. '...T-Thanks…' he mumbled into his knees, Amy barely hearing him.

 _He sounds really nervous,_ Bea thought, _Did she say he was the child in the car crash?_

Allister turned around. Looking at Bea's expressionless face for the first time made him flinch, however he knew she was hiding her emotions. Even if she didn't know it.

He knew that she was wearing a kind of mask, hiding her emotions. Even though he had just met her, he knew that he could relate to her. Even just a teeny bit.

Bea and Allister stared at each other for a few seconds, before he turned around again. 

'Hey, lady, sit next to me!' the boy from earlier called out, making the old woman violently tell him to be quiet.

Bea sighed and sat down next to him, glad she was at the back because she was so tall compared to everyone else.

Allister was the closest person to her to the right, but he was quite a far distance away from her. She didn't really want to invalid anyone's privacy here.

The story was about a boy going to a magical school with a white Hoothoot, and, even though she didn't want to admit it, she enjoyed it a lot.

The boy next to her was talking to the girl next to him, giggling and telling dirty jokes. The girl was telling him even dirtier jokes in response.

Bea sighed and shuffled towards Allister. She was really liking the story, so she wanted to hear it. 

He flinched a bit as she got closer, so she decided it would be a good idea to not go any further.

After a few minutes of them not saying anything, Allister turned his head towards her. 'A-Are you 'njoying t' story too..?' he mumbled. Bea was surprised she heard him since he said it so quietly.

'What? I guess so.' she replied, straightening her headband.

Allister smiled underneath his mask. He hugged his knees closer to him.

Bea's parents opened the door so suddenly that everyone jumped. They looked at Bea sitting on the floor with the children and frowned.

'Beatrice, get off of the floor.' her father sternly told her.

Bea stood up and walked towards her parents. 'So, you figured out who you want yet?'

Amy dropped the duster she was using to dust a window and coughed. 'Don't discuss this kinda stuff in front of the kids!'

They took no notice. 'Not yet. We're thinking of having the ones with Pokémon battle against each other to see who wins the most. The strongest, we will train. Hopefully they can pick up martial arts too.'

Amy coughed again. 

'Is that alright with you, Mrs. Sandstone?' Bea's mother asked, scanning all the children's faces as though that showed how strong they were.

'I- I wouldn't advise it, no, but…' She sighed. 'If that means you'll adopt a kid and give them loving care, then I don't really mind. They all like Pokémon battling, don't you?'

They all replied positively.

Mrs. Sandstone smiling a bit. 'I don't see why not. Let them have their lunch first, then they can.' 

* * *

They had a little tournament. Everyone fought another until only Allister and the boy from earlier were left.

'Go on, Wooloo! Show him how we roll!' he shouted enthusiastically. Wooloo bleated intimidatingly.

Allister backed away a bit. 'Timothy, y-you do k-know that ghost types c-can't use ghost m-moves on normal t-types, right? And t' same g-goes for t' o-opposite.'

Timothy's tan skin paled. 

'So what? We'll still win!' he yelled out.

The battle was a close one, but Allister somehow managed to lower their strength and accuracy so much that Wooloo fainted from hitting the ground too hard.

Bea's parents sighed with frustration.

'We'll get the boy. The other one. He has potential.'

Bea looked at Allister, hugging his Mimikyu so hard it was hurting it. He had potential to be a great battler. A Gym Leader, even.

'Mother, Father, I'll take care of the other boy if you don't want to. I can tell he has huge potential, battle wise that is.'

That had came out of nowhere.

Her parents both stared at her like she had three heads. 

'Beatrice, are you sure? He's appariently really anxious, nervous too. He was that boy in that crash.' he replied, shaking his head.

'I am sure. He may have a different battling style to us, but that doesn't mean I can't train him well.' 

'Oh alright then. But we'll return him if he isn't good enough for your training.' 

Bea smiled. She hadn't in ages. She made sure her parents didn't see, for they would scold her. 

She didn't know why she wanted to train him. To be his sister. She just felt the urge to hug him whenever she saw him, something she has never felt in her life up until this point. 

Maybe having him around would be a good thing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. So this was supposed to be a thousand words long. Nope! This happened.
> 
> Just a warning, I haven't researched about orphanages, so I am sorry if I got anything wrong.
> 
> Amy looks like the lass trainer class from Galar she just has brown hair :)
> 
> Added a little Harry Potter reference since my best friend in real life is obsessed with it.
> 
> Enjoy!


	2. Prologue: Training With Bea

Allister woke with a jump. It was still night. He had just had a nightmare; it had started off with him walking happily toward some silhouettes of his parents before falling and then walking down a dark tunnel with no light at the end of it.

He shivered under the duvet. It wasn't very warm that night, plus his duvet was very thin. It seemed like everyone other than him in the house could sleep out in the open on the coldest night of the year and wake up alive.

He groped around for Mimikyu's claw, as Mimikyu had left it out for him to hold on to for comfort if he needed too. He found it quickly, squeezing it hard. Mimikyu stirred a bit and nuzzled into Allister.

It was his first night living in Bea's house, and the day had been pretty tough for him.

Timothy was the favourite. He showed great interest in learning martial arts and he was physically strong. 

He had also been given a Mienfoo, which meant Allister was used as a punching bag every time they were in the same room as each other. 

Bea's parents ignored him. They acted like he wasn't there at mealtimes. Bea was the only one who cared about him, dropping into the room he shared with Timothy once to talk to him about his battle training.

He was excited for the training, but was slightly worried about it since she could force him to change his Pokémon for another, or even make him change types!

A shiver went down his spine at the very thought of that. Rolling over, he hugged Mimikyu and tried to go back to sleep. He wanted to see his parents. He had wished for them to return, so why did they not come to him in dream? 

He realised a tear had trickled down his mask. Wiping it, he rolled over to the opposite side. He was facing the wall. The orphanage had printed a few pictures of his parents out, and he had stuck them onto the wall.

Timothy wasn't too pleased, but he didn't seem to care anymore as he had plastered his side with posters of action movie stars.

Allister heard him snoring. He sat up, getting out of bed as quiet as he could to avoid waking up Timothy.

He pushed open the orange curtains, moonlight flooding the room like a light had just been switched on. 

Wait a minute… that was too yellow for it to be moonlight.

'Allister?' a familiar voice asked him. 'I heard some movement so I thought that I should check on you. They said you get nightmares. They told me to check on you whenever I can.'

Allister turned around, looking Bea straight in the eyes, unblinking. 'I do… q-quite often…' he replied, shifting weight from one foot to the other. 'Y-You don't have t' stay if y' d-don't want to, I-I'm fine.'

'Alright then. Good night.' 

Allister thought he saw her smile a bit when she turned off the light and closed the door. 

He anxiously looked at Timothy, who, to his relief, was still asleep.

Allister lay down on his bed again, his Mimikyu hopping out of his arms and tucking him in. He fell asleep quickly. He started having a happy dream, which was a rare thing for him to have. 

Mimikyu seemed to sense the fact he was having a good dream and smiled. He closed the curtains so the morning light wouldn't wake Allister up too early and went to sleep himself.

* * *

A few days earlier, Bea had talked to Mrs. Sandstone and Amy in the orphanage about Allister.

'I don't know why, but I just want to take care of him. Train him. I think I can see potential.' she had said to them. Amy had smiled at her.

'He may only be four, but he is quite strong. Strong in Pokémon battles, I mean. Physically he is really weak. You'll have to be gentle with him… or he might break or something!' Amy had demonstrated the last part by flattening her hand.

Bea had sighed. What had she got herself into? She had to take a whole hour out of every day so she could train Allister. She wasn't that sure she wanted to do this now, but a few days of talking to Allister had made her want to protect him even more than she had done before.

'Oh yes, you'll need to sprinkle some anxiety meds into his meals or something. They're free, don't worry, Galarian healthcare is amazing nowadays. If he didn't take his meds he'd be so anxious he couldn't even speak, so it's important that he takes them. He knows he has to have them, he just hates the taste of them.' 

* * *

After she had checked on Allister that night, Bea smacked her forehead as she remembered all the other things she had been told. Although her face didn't show it, she was regretting this. She couldn't not take care of him, though. He seemed to really enjoy battling, too, so maybe she'd enjoy this?

It was only the first night. She didn't train him today since she had been busy training with her machamp. They had lost track of time, and she felt bad afterwards, but she shook it off.

Bea rolled over and lay on her back, staring at the wavy ceiling. Tomorrow she would make sure Allister would know all about type advantages.

* * *

Allister woke up to Timothy humming. He didn't want to wake up. Not yet, his parents had talked to him, he wanted to continue…

'Boys, it's time to wake up.' the stern voice of Bea's father called out. 

Allister reluctantly sat up, Mimikyu throwing clean clothes onto Allister's bed. 

He usually wore a gray long sleeved shirt, which had two purple stripes around the bottom of the sleeves. He wore a lot of purple. He was also very fond of a worn pair of white and gray trainers, having got them from his parents.

Allister got up after he had finished changing and walked slowly down the steep stairs. He was too small to properly hold the railing, so he had to walk so slow (to avoid falling down) that you might have mistaken him for a Slowpoke.

He quietly sat down at the dining table, Bea's parents not paying any attention to him. Timothy was talking excitedly to them and they seemed pleased.

Bea looked at him. 'Good morning, Allister.' she greeted him, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Allister smiled at her from under his mask. He hoped she could see that his eyes were smiling too.

Bea poured him some muesli and he started to carefully eat it. He didn't like it, but he knew that it was the only thing they ate in the morning and he would probably get glared at if he asked for some Frosties.

Bea could tell he was hiding the fact he didn't like it. She didn't really like it that much herself either, but it was the healthiest cereal you could get so she tolerated it.

'So you're going to train Allister today?' Bea's mother asked her, looking at him as if he was a stain on the wall.

'Yes Mother. I will teach him about type match ups. I think he may already know about a few of them, but I just want to make sure he knows them all.'

Bea's mother nodded in approval.

'We're teaching Timothy to use the strongest fighting type move Mienfoo can learn at the moment.' her father added, his voice full of pride.

'I do wish you didn't have to take time out of your day to train him, since you could be doing Gym Leader training instead.'

Bea choked on her muesli. 'I'm now a Gym Leader?' she asked, masking her shock.

'Yes, we forgot to tell you. Your grandfather always wanted you to take over the gym when he died, and the Chairman approved the form you sent in.' 

Bea smiled inside her head. 'When do I start?'

'When the Gym Challenge starts in February.' her father told her.

Bea thought for a moment. 'February… that's a month away. I'll start training as soon as I can. Oh, I was just wondering, why didn't you tell me when I first came down?'

Her parents looked over at Timothy happily. 'We were talking to him,' her mother said proudly, 'about how well he was doing. He's a great student.'

Bea felt the feeling of anger and jealousy rise within her. Timothy was getting all their attention. They were prouder of him than her. She had just been given the job of Gym Leader, for Christ's sake!

Allister turned his head to look at her. 'G-Good job 'n c-congratulations, Bea.' he mumbled.

Although her face didn't show it, she was feeling quite happy now. 

'Thank you.'

* * *

'Alright then, Allister.' 

Bea and Allister were sat on some mats in a training room, Bea meditating and Allister just awkwardly sitting there.

She stopped meditating and turned to face him. He had to look up at her since she was so much taller than him. 

'So, type matchups. They are a crucial thing to learn, since you want to know what moves are most effective against your opponent. Don't be foolish and rely on type matchups alone, since a Fire-type can easily beat a Water-type if they are strong enough.'

Allister listened with great interest. 'N-Normal-types can't use moves on G-Ghost-types, n' the opposite is t-true.' he told her, smiling proudly under his mask.

'You are right. Ghost-types can't be hit with normal type moves, unless the Pokémon has a special ability. Do you know what types Ghost-type moves are strong against?'

'P-Psychic and G-Ghost.' he answered confidently.

'You are correct. And the type Ghost-type moves aren't very effective against?' 

'Dark.'

'There is another type that can't affect them when using their type's moves.'

'F-Fighting.'

'Two types that aren't very effective against Ghost-types?'

'P-Poison and Bug.'

'Good! And lastly, what types are super effective on Ghost-types?'

'G-Ghost. 'N Dark.'

Bea nodded at him. 'You know a lot about the Ghost-type.' 

Allister beamed. 'I do. 'Cause Mimikyu t-taugh me'

Bea's face temporarily looked slightly shocked. 'Pardon? Did you say _he_ taught you?'

'Y-Yes. Me 'n Mimikyu C-can understand eachoth'r.'

Bea shook her head slightly in disbelief. 'Right... Anyway, moving on to more types…'

* * *

Bea flopped onto her bed, exhausted. Her and Allister had talked about type matchups for an hour and a half; she had done extra training to make up for it. 

She had to admit that "training" Allister had been a lot of fun. He knew more than she thought he would, which was a pleasant surprise, and she was enjoying teaching him so far. 

_Smart for a four year old_ , she thought as she switched off her light.

Her parents had happily talked to Timothy all the way through dinner, only talking to Bea for a few minutes to ask her how much she had trained and how much progress she had made.

Bea didn't really mind that Timothy was getting all the attention now, since she could talk to Allister instead.

She had never had friends before. Being around Allister made her slightly happier than usual, though. Maybe this is what it felt like to have a friend?

* * *

Over in his room, Allister was looking out of his window, looking down on the empty streets of the usually busy Stow-On-Side. Well, they weren't fully empty, since Pokémon occasionally ran through alleyways and roads.

Timothy was snoring, as usual. He didn't know that people younger than eighteen could snore until he shared a room with Timothy. He didn't understand how a seven year old could snore so loudly either.

Getting irritated, he looked around for Mimikyu, which had hopped onto his head. He scratched it affectionately for a bit. 

He looked at the clock and realised he should probably get some sleep now. The Saitou family got up early, so he didn't want to be too tired the next day.

Mimikyu seemed glad that he had turned towards the bed, so he hopped off of his head ready to tuck Allister in.

* * *

'Peter,' said Bea's mother to her husband the next morning, 'I don't really know why we said yes to getting Allister that day. But now I feel like I can see some potential in him.'

He nodded. 'Yes. When we checked on them doing their "training" Bea seemed to be doing an excellent job of teaching him about type advantages and disadvantages. He seems to know a lot about them already, and he's only four years old.'

'Yes. I bet with the right training he could become a Gym Leader.'

Those words were the kindest thing they said about him the whole year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If I got the Ghost-type part wrong please let me know and I will blame the website I used.
> 
> I know it isn't Friday. I just wanted to post it now.


	3. Allister's Birthday and the Day He Got Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if it doesn't flow very well.
> 
> Here's your Friday chapter :)

Allister angrily walked down the dusty streets of Stow-On-Side. 

'I can't b-believe that challenger said that!' he fumed. Mimikyu struggled to keep up. He had his hand clasped around one of his suspenders in frustration.

It was Allister's eighth birthday today, and it was already going badly. A challenger had told him that he was bad at battling and he deserved to die like his Ghost-types. She hadn't used the word bad, no, she had used a very rude word instead.

He was also mad at Rose for telling him that he wasn't training hard enough. Why was everyone being so mean to him on his birthday?

He finally got to his house. Him and Bea had been living on their own for nearly two years now.

He remembered the day she had taken him with her to the train station, telling him it would be ok and everything would be alright.

They had arrived at Circhester with nothing but a large backpack full of clothes and their Pokémon, and asked Melony for help.

When asked by Melony why she went to her instead of someone else, Bea had shrugged and replied; 'Milo doesn't have space. Nessa doesn't have the time. Kabu scares Allister and Opal scares him too. Piers isn't even old enough to drink, and Raihan… you know what Raihan does.'

Melony knew what Raihan did. Selfies. Lots of selfies. Too many selfies. Being around Raihan was a bad idea unless you wanted to be in one of his selfies.

He was glad that they weren't in Bea's parent's house anymore. The day Bea finally decided to run away from there was a day he remembered too well...

* * *

'I'm home from the Gym!' Bea called out. Dropping her bag, she looked around the hallway and was surprised that she hadn't heard anybody reply.

She went up the stairs and was about to open her room's door when she heard crying coming from Allister and Timothy's room.

Worried, she opened the door and found Allister sitting on his bed, crying into his knees.

'Al, what's up?' she asked him, her face her usual expression but with a worried look to it.

He sniffed. 'T-They made m-me do physical training. It h-hurt, Bea!' 

Bea noticed that his pale arms and legs were covered in scratches and bruises.

'T-They told me t-they were g-goin' out. S-Said they weren't going to come b-back till late. They left m-me on my o-own!' He started to cry louder.

Bea put her hand gently on his back. 'It's going to be ok, Allister…'

Was it? Would it really be ok? Her parents were getting worse. She and Timothy could cope with it, but Allister… If they wanted to train him physically, he would break like a thin twig.

Allister looked like he was in pain. He was bleeding all over his bed and tears were streaming down his face. His mask had cracked a bit in the corner.

Bea knew what she had to do.

'Allister. We're leaving. Bring some clean clothes and some things you need, we're going on a little… adventure.'

Allister looked surprised. 'W-We are? B-But what about t' Gym?' 

Bea felt her heart start to beat fast. She had forgotten about the Gym. But, wasn't today the last batch of challengers..?'

She sighed in relief. Yes, it was. 'Today, I had the last batch of challengers. They're all heading for Opal now.'

Allister didn't respond. He started sorting through his stuff and putting the things he wanted to take with him onto his bed.

'W-Where are w-we g-going?' he asked her. Bea didn't know if she could answer that. Then, she has an idea.

'The train station.'

'T' visit w-who?'

'You'll see. It's a surprise.'

* * *

He was glad they left. If they hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to become a Gym Leader. 

Bea was starting to show emotion properly now. He was so proud of her.

Allister was only a bit better mentally than he was four years ago. He could just barely cope with the noisy gym crowd. He wasn't fixed in any way, not even close.

He spoke without stuttering too much now, which he was glad about, although he still simplified words he could to shorten them...

He realised he had been pacing the garden, deep in thought. Embarrassed, he quickly ran to the door and opened it.

' 'M home!' he called out.

The light wasn't on. It was pitch black in the hallway. He would have to ask Gengar to stop turning all the lights off again. 

He walked into the living room, feeling his way around the room when the light turned on.

'Happy birthday, Allister!' Bea said happily, lighting eight purple candles on a cake.

Allister blinked back tears. 'Y-You remembered!' 

Bea held the cake out and smiled. 'How could I not? Your birthday is a special day. A very special day. Go on, make a wish.'

Allister blew out the candles. 'I wish for my parents to return..' he thought as usual.

Bea cut the cake and shoved a huge slice in her face. Allister cut himself a tiny sliver of cake. It was his favourite, which was a sponge cake with chocolate cream and icing.

He broke a bit off for Mimikyu to nibble on. 

'I saw that battle.' Bea said, her mouth full of cake. 'That girl was just trying to annoy you, don't take it personally.' 

'I-I am not, I just, ah, o-ok, maybe I did get a little upset, but-' 

'Allister. I've had many people say things like that to me. And you know what I do?'

'N-No..?'

'I ignore them. I found it really hard at your age, but maybe you could just try…'

'Oh, ok…'

The two sat in silence. After they had finished their cakes, Allister hugged Bea hard.

Bea returned the hug. 'Happy birthday, Al. Eight years old… Four years since I first met you. I am so proud of you, Allister. We've both been through a lot.'

Mimikyu nodded in agreement.

'S-So… Did y-you get any... challengers that were strong t'day?' he asked her.

Bea nodded. She knew he was changing the subject because he didn't want to think about anything bad. It would ruin the moment.

'Yes. Two of them beat me. You know Victor, right?' 

'Y-Yeah! ...That strong boy who, uh, beat me in… s-six minutes.'

'His twin, Gloria, also beat me really quickly. They're both so strong, they could even beat Leon.'' 

Allister shook his head. 'No. L-Leon is the unbeatable c-champion!'

'I don't know, there are some seriously strong trainers this year. Leon's younger brother is in the challenge this year, too.'

Allister paused for a moment before looking at Bea and giggling quietly.

'What?'

'Y-You've got chocolate c-cream around your mouth!'

Bea licked it away, laughing a bit herself. 'Anyway, I got you a present.'

Allister's eyes lit up. 'Y-You did? Um, th-thanks a lot!'

She handed him a present that was wrapped in newspaper, tied up with a ghostly purple ribbon. Allister looked closely at the wrapping.

'Bea, is… is this t' newspaper from t' first day I was Gym Leader..? W-With that cool article..?'

Bea smiled and nodded. He hugged her hard, nearly squashing the present.

'Al, be careful. You don't want to break your gift.''

Allister tore open the paper. Inside was a small cardboard box, which had been crushed slightly, and an envelope.

He opened the envelope first and pulled out a card. The card had a picture of him and Bea on the front, which said on the inside: 'Dear Allister, Happy eighth birthday! Love, Bea.'

Allister teared up a bit. 'You d-didn't have to. You c-could've just given me a cake or somethin'...'

Bea smiled. 'I wanted today to be special.' she said, stroking his hair. She always seemed to do that when he was hugging her, and it always made him feel calmer.

'Plus, you're my brother. I couldn't just buy you a cake.' she added.

Allister smiled and opened the box. Inside, he found a framed picture of him and Bea sat on a rock in Ballonlea. He loved that picture. Now it was framed in purple and orange. 

He hugged Bea as hard as he could. To Bea it wasn't strong at all, but he didn't care. Nor did she.

'I l-love you, Bea.'

'I love you too, Allister.'

* * *

The next day, Allister decided to go to the Glimwood Tangle.

He had tied the ribbon from the present around his left wrist. 

He hadn't been in the Tangle since the very first day of the year, and he was excited to be back.

Immediately after he entered, Ghost-types surrounded him. 

Mimikyu popped out of his ball and hopped on Allister's head, making himself comfy.

'Hey, g-guys! I d-didn't bring any food today.' he told them, feeling guilty when he saw their sad faces. 'I'm… sorry.'

Mimikyu tensed and Allister jumped as an Impidimp brushed against his leg. The ghosts around him glared at it as it disappeared into a bush.

'...Stupid Pokémon… That c-could've hurt.'

It laughed from within the bush. Allister ignored it and continued talking to the Pokémon around him.

'I turned e-eight yesterday..!' he proudly told them.

They all reacted happily and wished him a happy late birthday. Allister grinned and fiddled with the ribbon on his wrist.

He walked deep into the forest, finding his favourite spot. It was a clearing with pink mushrooms surrounding it, with a tall tree with a wooden swing tied into one of its branches inside of it.

He sat down on it as usual and swung high. Mimikyu chatted happily with the other Pokémon as he swung.

It started to get dark and Allister thought that it was probably best for him to start heading back. Bea would be worried. She always worried a lot if he had been gone for more than two hours.

Sighing, he made the long walk back to the entrance to Stow-On-Side. A few minutes later he realised that he had been walking in circles. It was some Pokémon tricking him, no doubt. He was used to these kind of things happening to him. He did specialise in ghosts, after all.

He sighed and turned around. Hopefully he would find a spot he knew. Then he would know which way to go.

A Sinistea started following him a few minutes later, which he had no problem with. It told him to follow it, which he did, and they were at the entrance in no time.

'T-Thanks. A lot.' he smiled at it, hoping it could somehow tell that he was.

Sinistea responded by attempting to nod. Allister started walking home and when he got there he noticed that the Pokémon had followed him there.

Allister opened the door and called out, as usual. 

' 'M home!'

Bea ran into the hallway and smiled in relief. 'Welcome home, Al. I was starting to- Oh? Who's that?'

She looked at Sinistea. It floated around her and inspected her. Once it was convinced she was a nice person, it returned to Allister's side.

'...It's a friend I made in t' tangle. S-Seems t' like me.'

'Maybe it wants to be your Pokémon?'

'Maybe. I'll… uh, ask it.' 

Bea hadn't believed him at first when he said he could understand Ghost-type Pokémon, but after a few days of living with him she knew it had to be true. How else would him and his Mimikyu have full conversations together?

She watched him as he asked the Pokémon. Sinistea responded happily, so she guessed that it had agreed.

Allister quickly ran upstairs and returned with a Dusk Ball. 

He threw it at Sinistea, who was caught with only one roll of the Poké Ball. 

Allister grinned and he bent over to pick it up. 'I… I did it! I c-caught a Sinistea!'

Bea patted him on the back and smiled. 'Good job! It seemed very happy to be in your presence.'

Mimikyu nodded. It had.

'Will you use it in battles?' she asked, staring at the mostly green ball in his hand.

'Huh?- Oh, p-probably. It seems t' be strong…'

Bea jumped suddenly. 'Argh, I forgot I had our dinner on! I apologise, Allister, we're going to have a burnt meal.'

She ran into the kitchen, her bare feet slapping loudly against the tiles.

He stared down at the ball in his hand. 'Welcome t' my t-team, Sinistea.'

The ball rocked happily in his hand. Mimikyu waved his shadowy claw at it.

Allister walked into the kitchen, the smell of burnt food filling his nose. Bea was sat down at the table, crunching on her meal.

'I've put some chips on for you since these are really hard.' she told him, her mouth full of food.

Allister sat down and looked at her plate. It wasn't… very appetising.

Bea looked at his wrist and froze. 'Allister, is that the ribbon I tied your gift with?'

He nodded, smiling at her from under his mask.

'Aw Al, that's really sweet.' She reached out and hold his pale hand in hers.

Mimikyu looked at the food on her plate longingly.

'Do you want some? Yes? Ok then.' she sighed, putting some food Infront of him.

Mimikyu ate it really quickly and seemed satisfied. Bea didn't know how it could eat that without hating the taste. Maybe Mimikyu had no taste buds, or maybe it just liked burnt food.

It probably just liked burnt food.

Allister yawned. 'I think I'm gonna… go t' sleep soon…'

Bea thought that was a good idea. 'Yes, you seem really tired.' 

The oven beeped and she got up to get the chips out.

'These smell really good, Al.'

No reply. She turned around and noticed that Allister had fallen asleep in his chair.

'Aww, he's fallen asleep. Well Mimikyu, looks like you're getting some more food.'

Mimikyu could never say no to more food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the start of the main part of the story. 
> 
> I have uploaded chapter one of The Stow-On-Side Siblings: Home, which starts with the flashback in this chapter.


	4. Snow in Stow-On-Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full chapter is here! :D

'Alright, class, it's break time!' 

Allister covered his ears as the bell went off. Mimikyu grabbed his bag and they ran out of the classroom.

'T-Thanks, Mimikyu.' he said, smiling gratefully. Mimikyu gave a happy nod.

They walked out into the playground. Allister had a favourite spot he always went to, and he was going to sit there today.

He tried to ignore everyone laughing and pointing at him as he walked towards it. He felt his face get warm under his mask.

Mimikyu slung the small purple bag he was carrying over his trainer's shoulder. Allister grasped the strap.

His favourite spot was an old tree stump, right at the edge of the playground. It was under a bare tree, but its thick twigs made the area so dark it attracted Phantump. That usually scared everyone away from it, which he was glad about, since he didn't like being around people.

Bea went to the same school, she was just in a different building. It has its own playground, so she couldn't visit Allister during break and lunch.

He sat down on the tree stump and swung his legs back and forth. The sun was shining brightly as always. He was glad that he was in the shade.

A Phantump floated over to Allister. He smiled at the Pokémon, hoping it could sense what he was doing.

Mimikyu started a conversation with it. Allister half listened, half thought.

Today he could go home earlier since the Gym Challenge was still going on. He was excited since he loved battling, but was also worried because everyone would be watching him, hoping that he would win.

He shivered. Mimikyu stopped talking for a second to wrap a shadowy arm around him.

'A-Are you ready for t' battles later..?' he asked his Pokémon.

Mimikyu nodded.

'Th-That's good… I'm nervous… like always.'

Him and Bea always had two hours to prepare when they got home. Bea wasn't the Gym Leader today, though. She could chill at home and watch his battles on TV.

Allister battled on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, while Bea battled on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Today was Tuesday. His least favourite lesson, PE, was in the afternoon, so he was glad he could miss out on it.

Allister watched the other children playing happily. He wondered how they could speak to each other without stuttering so easily. 

After a few more minutes of swinging his legs, the bell went off. 

He sighed and got up, the Phantump waving him and Mimikyu goodbye.

* * *

Bea chewed her pencil. She glanced at the clock. It was nearly time to take Allister to the Gym. She looked forward to seeing him.

Sure, she'd have to come back to finish the rest of the school day after she had dropped him off, but she didn't mind.

She wondered what he was doing right now. Probably something easy, unlike her.

Rubbing out pencil for the hundredth time, she glanced at the clock again. It was time to go.

She put up her hand and patiently waited for her teacher to notice.

'Yes, Bea?' 

'It's time for me to walk my brother to the Gym.'

'Oh, yes, of course. You may go. But you have to come-'

'Back afterwards, I know, you tell me every time.'

Bea got up and grabbed her schoolbag. She happily walked down the corridor to the main part of the school, humming quietly.

Allister was waiting for her in the reception area.

He beamed under his mask as he saw her. 

'Bea!'

A small smile appeared on her face. 'Hello, Al.'

Allister and his Mimikyu ran up to her. Bea held out her arms and Allister happily gave her a hug.

'Well.' she said, removing his hands from her. 'It's time to go to the Gym. Home first, though.'

The two walked out of the school and into the dusty roads of stow on side. 

'So, did you do anything interesting today?' asked Bea, straightening her headband.

'N-Not much. T'day's first lesson was this… weird thing. W-We had to water some plants… How do they expect p-plants to survive in t' heat?' he replied, sighing.

'Well, I guess they could be in a colder room.' 

'I guess…'

They reached their house. Bea opened the door and Allister threw his bag on the floor and ran up the stairs.

A few minutes later he returned in his Gym uniform.

Bea smiled at him and handed him his Gym bag. He grabbed it, putting it on. It was a little heavy, but he didn't mind. He only had to wear it for a bit.

They walked out of their house, setting off for the Gym.

'So, did anyone bully you today?' Bea asked, trying to have a conversation with him.

'No… I-I mean, people laughed and pointed a-as usual, but…'

Bea sighed. 'I wish the school could give everyone a lesson about the fact that everyone is a human being, no matter what they look like.'

Allister giggled quietly. 'E-Everyone thinks I'm a ghost!'

Bea smiled a bit. 'I wasn't sure whether you were alive or not when I first started talking to you.'

'No w-way!'

'Yeah. But ghosts don't exist, so I kept telling myself that.'

Allister looked up at her. '...Ghosts do exist, they're just little wisps of purple, th-though.'

Bea stared at him like he had three heads. 'What?'

'I d-don't know why I, uh, can see 'em but… I just can.' He started sweating.

'Huh… That's cool.' 

They walked in silence for the rest of the journey. 

* * *

Snow has started to fall. Galar was transformed into a winter wonderland… except for route six, Stow-On-Side and route eight.

Bea was glad about that. Allister wasn't good with the snow since he usually got a cold.

Bea wasn't too keen on the snow. She didn't own even one pair of shoes, so it made her feet icicles whenever she stepped onto snow.

She wondered how Allister was doing. He was probably being defeated, but she knew he didn't care since most of his battles were so thrilling to him that his mask nearly slips off.

'T-The b-best thing about being a Gym Leader is, um, the fact that all of t' battles I have are… fun! E-Even if I lose.' he had told an interviewer one day.

Bea smiled as she remembered that. 

She decided to walk to the kitchen to get a donut. Bea was a huge fan of sweets. She would never let anyone know, except from people she trusted, since most people would judge her for it.

Being a Gym Leader, she thought as she bit into a chocolate donut, is really tough. Everyone judges you for everything and fans get really mad at you for losing a battle sometimes.

Luckily most of Allister's fans were nice. They respected his privacy and thought he was a cute little boy. Some of his fans were a bit more… crazy, though. Some try to hug him. One even broke into the Gym once to see his maskless face.

Bea switched on the TV just in time for one of Allister's matches. She smiled as she saw him nervously walk out onto the pitch. He introduced himself by saying ' 'M Allister..' as usual.

He ended up losing the battle, but she could tell from his eyes that he enjoyed it a lot. 

She realised that she had watched the last battle of the day. He'd be coming home soon. 

She had one last donut in the packet. Allister loved donuts. She decided to leave one for him. He deserved it.

* * *

'C-Can I ask you somethin', Bea?' Allister asked as she tucked him into bed.

'Sure, Al, what do you want to ask me?'

'H-Have you ever felt that… um… I'm stoppin' you from doing a lot of th-things?'

Bea's eyes widened. 'No! Not at all. I'm glad that you are here, Al.' 

She sat next to him on the bed and started stroking his hair. 'Why would you think that?'

He sighed. 'I… I don't know. I s-sometimes feel like I'm wastin' your time or somethin'...'

He sat up and hugged her. 'YYou don't think that though, r-right?'

Bea smiled at him. 'No! Of course not.'

'...How m-many challengers do you think w-we have left?'

'I don't know, probably not many more. They'll be going to Opal really soon.'

He smiled. 'I-I like battling, but… bein' a Gym Leader is super stressful…'

Bea nodded. 'I agree.'

Allister took off his mask. Bea was surprised, but couldn't stop staring at his cute face.

' 'M going t' put a clean one on. T-This one's dirty from t' move Muddy Water. A bit of t' water touched it.' he told her, noticing the fact she was looking at him.

'Oh! I see. I thought it looked a bit different.'

Allister stared at her. 

'What-? Oh, you want another mask.'

Bea got up and gently picked up one of the many masks that were lying around in his room. She took the slightly dirty one from his hands and handed him the clean one.

He put it on with a grin. 'Thanks..!'

Bea smiled at him.

* * *

For the first time in twenty years, Stow-On-Side had snow. Well, it wasn't natural. Some trainer had used their Pokémon to make it snow. The reason it hadn't all melted yet was because the region was growing colder. There was still enough snow on the ground to make a small snowman.

'You'll need to wear a coat, Al.' Bea told him.

Allister looked at her. She was wearing winter clothes, her feet bare.

'Won't your… feet get c-cold?' He shivered in his pajamas.

'No. I'll be fine, I promise you.' she reassured him with a small smile.

She walked out to grab all their stuff.

He got dressed quickly. He looked in the mirror when he had finished. 

His mask was on.

Bea sighed and rubbed her hands together as she walked back into his room. 'Cold today. I know some people like snow, but that was a stupid thing for that trainer to do.'

'S-Stow-On-Side is always hot… rarely gets cold… It feels weird.'

After breakfast, the two siblings started walking towards their school.

'S-So you're going to have battles this afternoon..!'

'Yeah. I'm looking forward to it. Have you got any fun lessons today?'

'No… not really.'

Allister stared at his feet. He grasped the straps of his backpack. 

'Everyone seems t' stare at me… all the time.' 

'Aw, Al… I wish everyone would stop judging you…' 

She paused as they reached the entrance of the school. 'Well, we're here now. Have a good day!' She waved at him, walking away. 'Have fun! Or at least try to…'

'Y-You too! Have fun!' He waved at her, trying to sound positive.

He knew today would be a long day of hard lessons, and people throwing snowballs at him of course. He was a good target since he walked slowly most of the time.

Mimikyu popped out of his ball and hopped onto his trainer's shoulder. 

'Mimikyu! Kyu mimi mimikyu!!' It seemed to have read his mind.

'You… want to protect me from snowballs..?'

'Mimikyu!!'

'Thanks..!'

He happily walked into school, a small spring in his step. 

He was glad that he was allowed to go straight to class. If he had to wait outside with the other kids in his class, he would probably be soaked to the skin by now. His jacket wasn't waterproof.

* * *

At break, Allister sat in his usual spot. Mimikyu stopped at least one hundred snowballs from hitting him. 

The Phantump from the day before was in Allister's arms, scared of the snow.

They watched a snowball fight with mild interest.

'Doesn't look like f-fun…' Allister mumbled to himself. 'Looks c-cold.'

He was shivering. Despite wearing thick winter clothes, he was really cold. 

'...Why do people l-like the snow..? If they like it so much, they… they can go live in Circhester or somethin'.'

The snow was starting to thaw a bit more now, which made Allister feel a little better.

* * *

By the time Bea came home, the snow had gone completely.

Allister was sat on his bed, happily reading a book. His Mimikyu was sleeping next to him.

Bea walked upstairs to her room.

'Bea! 'M in 'ere.' he called out.

Bea poked her head in. 'Hey. You're lucky. You got to stay at home while I had to battle in snow…' 

She sighed. 'A lot of people didn't turn up because of the cold though, which would be a good thing for you.'

Allister sighed. ' 'M so unlucky…'

Bea came in and put an arm around him. 'Don't think that! You are pretty lucky, you just seem to always focus on the bad things.' 

Allister smiled a bit under his mask. His Mimikyu woke up a bit and groggily put a shadowy arm around his trainer.

'Oh, yeah, um, t'day I got seventy two out of eighty on a t-test..!' 

Bea smiled. 'That's great, Al! You're getting good at learning. What subject?'

Allister beamed, then laughed a bit. 'Type match-ups!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snow! In Stow-On-Side. What an idiotic trainer.
> 
> I have a side story to this one called The Stow-On-Side Siblings: Home. It's about them running away from Bea's parents and going to the snowy city or Circhester.


	5. Bea's Parents and Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that you can always give me constructive criticism and you can always point out mistakes.

Allister woke up and yawned. He lay in bed for a bit, holding Mimikyu's shadowy hand.

He got up after a few minutes and walked to Bea's bedroom. He slowly pushed open the door. 

Bea wasn't in there. 

He grasped Mimikyu's hand tighter.

His heart started thumping hard. He looked around her clean and tidy room to check if she was hiding.

Allister ran out into the hallway, checking every upstairs room. She wasn't anywhere.

'B-Bea..?' he called out. 'Bea?' 

No response. Maybe she was downstairs..?

He slowly walked down the stairs, his heart so loud it was deafening him. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He took off his mask for a second to wipe the sweat away before putting it back on again.

Allister looked into all the downstairs rooms. Nobody. Not even one of her Pokémon. 

He sat down on a couch in the lounge, crying. 

'...W-Where is she..?' he asked himself between tears. 'She c-couldn't have abandoned me… R-Right..?'

* * *

It had been a nice morning till they had appeared. 

Bea had decided to have a quick run before Allister woke up. She had been having fun till they had showed up. 

Her parents were glaring at her. They usually did this whenever they walked past each other, and Bea usually ignored them, but this time they were walking towards her.

'Beatrice. Please come with us. We need to talk to you about something.' her mother said sternly.

Bea's stomach tightened. 'Why?'

'Do not question us, child. Come on.' 

She couldn't not follow them. She didn't know what else to do. 

Poor Allister… He would be waking up around now.

Bea looked up at her old home and swallowed. This house… she usually avoided it. 

They opened the door and glared at her like she was a stain on the wall. 'Come in.' 

Bea sighed, walking into the house. It looked exactly the same as it did before, with a few new bits of furniture in the hallway.

Her parents led her to the lounge, where she sat down in the spot she had sat many times before.

'So what did you want to talk about..?' 

Her parents sighed.

'We want to ask you a question… Do you enjoy being a Gym Leader?' her father asked her.

Bea was taken aback. 'What? Yes, yes I do. Why?'

'Well, we're hoping that you will let Timothy take over.' her mother answered coldly.

'What?' Bea's mouth hung open.

'Beatrice, don't do that, people will think you're weak.'

An older Timothy walked smugly into the room. 

'Yeah, Beatrice.'

Her mother angrily looked at Timothy, before her face softened a bit. 'You too, Timothy.'

'Right, Mother, I apologise.' 

But behind her back, he stuck his tongue out at Bea.

'Let Timothy take over the Gym..? Why?'

'You make our family look weak. You don't train yourself enough.'

Bea looked down at her body. She looked the same as she did four years ago…

'Plus, your Pokémon aren't even strong. You should train them harder.'

Bea sighed irritably. 'Mother, Father, I'm only the fourth Gym Leader. The challengers need to win, or else nobody would even reach Opal.'

Her mother scoffed slightly. 'I bet they would. Allister is so weak he gets beaten a lot.'

Bea felt anger rising in her. 'Nobody beats him any more than me.' 

'That is true, which is why you are a disgrace to the family. You are weak.' her father snapped, icicles growing on his words. 'You even go by a childish nickname now. Bea. How immature.'

Bea glared at him. 'Well, maybe if you didn't call me an incredibly old fashioned name, I would've used my real name.'

She got up and started walking to the door. 

'Beatrice! Get back here.' her mother snapped.

'No. And by the way, I'm not giving up my Gym. Goodbye.'

* * *

Allister had cried on the sofa for twenty minutes now. Mimikyu patted him on the back, anxiously glancing at the clock every few seconds.

Then, the door swung open. Allister jumped at the loud sound.

'B-Bea..?' he called out hopefully. 

'Allister! I am so sorry!' she replied, running into the lounge.

'Bea!' he happily called out, running to her and hugging her as hard as he could. '...Where were you..?'

She flicked a tear off of his mask. Her face suddenly became serious. 

'My parents. They wanted Timothy to take over the Gym…'

Allister looked up at her with sad purple eyes. 'Bea…'

She smiled a bit. 'It's fine, Al. I'm fine.'

He looked down at his feet. 'Um… T-There is somethin' I never told you… That I just remembered now...'

He shifted uncomfortably. 

'Yes..?'

'R-Rose tried t' get me t' give up my role of Gym Leader… He was really creepy. Um, he was sayin' stuff like… uh…basically he was hinting that he wanted me to resign.'

Bea sighed. 'Rose is like that. Just ignore him.'

She started stroking his hair, which calmed him down.

'Do you want some Frosties?' she asked him. 

Allister was only allowed Frosties as a treat.

'Yeah..!' he replied excitedly.

He let go of her, hoping his eyes showed how happy he was.

They did, and Bea smiled back. 

She walked to the kitchen, getting the bowl of Frosties for Allister and a bowl of muesli for her.

 _I should probably sprinkle in a few Frosties in my own cereal,_ she thought, _since I deserve it._

Allister started shoveling in Frosties as soon as the bowl was handed to him. Bea smiled, glad he was happy.

She sat down next to him and started eating her own breakfast. 

After they had finished, Bea turned the TV on. Nessa and Milo were having a battle, which both of them were interested in.

Allister was never a TV show loving kid, as he preferred to watch battles. Bea wasn't a TV show person either. 

They both focused hard in the battle. Allister's eyes followed the action, while Bea focused on the way the Pokémon used their moves.

Allister snuggled into her. She smiled at him, wrapping an arm around him.

* * *

Allister sighed with relief. No more challengers. While he did enjoy battling, being a Gym Leader was very stressful.

He patted Mimikyu on the top of its rag. Mimikyu responded happily.

The two were chilling in the lounge, watching Bea train outside through the window. He wondered how she had enough energy to kick and punch for so long.

Bea stopped after a while and walked inside, panting.

'That's enough,' she panted, '...for now. I'll do some more training later.'

She looked at Allister and Mimikyu snuggling and smiled. 

'What do you want for lunch?' she asked.

'Um… M-Maybe some sandwiches..?'

'Cheese?'

'...Mhm…'

Bea walked to the Kitchen and she made some sandwiches for him. She made herself some healthy noodles, and poured some Pokémon food into a bowl for Mimikyu.

'Thanks, Bea.' said Allister, smiling gratefully. 'I should… p-probably make you lunch sometimes…'

Bea smiled a bit, but her eyebrows were angled upwards. 'You don't have to, Al. I can make it myself.' 

'...I could try…'

'Maybe one day you could help?'

'Y-Yeah.'

Bea turned on the TV and started flicking through the channels.

'Nothing good is on. They usually have at least one battle on…' she sighed.

After a few minutes, Bea went to get some pudding. She opened the cupboard and groaned when she saw they didn't have much food left.

'Maybe we could go out to get some food. Later, when less people are in the shops.'

* * *

The sun was nearly set. Stow-On-Side was mostly dark; the few street lamps that were dotted about giving off a weak glow. 

Allister and Bea were walking home from the shops. Allister was holding a small bag full of light items, while Bea was carrying everything else. Mimikyu was holding a plastic small bag full of vegetables.

'Thanks for coming with me, Al.' Bea said, smiling.

'Y-You're welcome!' He beamed under his mask.

'Thanks, Mimikyu, for carrying that.'

'Mim kyumim!' 

'...Mimikyu s-says that you're welcome.' Allister translated.

'I don't really understand how you can understand Ghost-types, and _only_ Ghost-types, but it's pretty cool.' said Bea. 'I wonder what it would be like if I could understand my Pokémon.'

'They'd… They'd probably be telling you that th-they love you.'

She smiled. 'I bet they would.'

They didn't talk again till they reached their house.

Bea put down all the bags carefully. She opened the door, turning on the hallway light.

She waited for Allister and Mimikyu to go in. When they had, she picked up the bags again and brought them inside and to the kitchen.

* * *

People wondered how someone as young as Allister actually became a Gym Leader. 

He didn't tell anyone, but he was only a Gym Leader because Chairman Rose saw his strength and asked him if he wanted to be a Gym Leader.

Well, he actually intimidated him and wouldn't let him say no, but still.

Bea was proud of him. As proud a mother would be of her child.

Bea was his sister, though. She acted like a mother would, but they were siblings. Allister liked that. He loved having an older sister.

He still missed his parents. Therapy helped a little with that, although he only had it once every weekend. 

Therapy couldn't get rid of that feeling of sadness and grief. He couldn't even remember them now. He had to look at pictures of them to even know what they looked like.

His mother had his hair colour, but his father was the one with eyes closest to his. He looked a lot more like his mum than his dad, though.

Bea looked like her mother, just with a different hairstyle and eye colour. Her mother's eye colour was brighter, which made her look even more cold and stern.

Bea didn't look much like her dad at all. 

Allister often wondered what it would be like if his parents were alive. Would they love him as much as Bea did? Would they be as kind? 

He had to shake his head every time he thought of this kind of thing. His parents were gone, but at least he had a big sister who took care of him.

Bea would never be a mother, but she would try her best to be a good big sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though the ending may seem like the end of the story, it isn't! There are more chapters to this story :)
> 
> I've got a new drawing tablet, so I might post some art of the two siblings if I feel like they're good enough.


	6. Rocks and Grass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I saw Milo and Allister team up in the Galarian Star Tournament, I had to do so something with these two.
> 
> Appologies in advance if any of them have wrong personalities.

The Gym Challenge was a big thing in Galar. Pretty much all of the people living in the region watched most of the battles.

Kids would be watching, hugging their Pokémon. Nine year olds would be excitedly watching, waiting for the age they could legally sign up for the Gym Challenges. Challengers would be watching from their hotel rooms, cheering for their friends.

Adults would be watching with their own Pokémon, cheering on their favourites. Parents would be watching with their kids, happy that their children were so keen on battles. Even people as old as Professor Magnolia would be watching.

The Gym Challenge started on the fifth of December, usually ending in the middle of February. Leon would always win. He always stayed unbeatable. Raihan would try to win against him during the opening ceremony, failing every single year.

During new year's and Christmas, the challengers would be able to go home and visit family if they could. The reason why it started at such an odd time was unknown, however Rose had said in an interview that it was nice to watch replays of battles on Christmas day with all the family.

Allister and Bea didn't really mind. Challengers usually started arriving on the twenty eighth, which meant that the two could chill during Christmas. 

* * *

It was early February now, and people were challenging Piers and Raihan. It would be over soon.

Allister breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad it was ending soon. 

He put his finished homework into his bag, sliding down his chair a little. 

When the Gym Challenge was on, he could go home a bit earlier some days. When it ended, he couldn't. He didn't like school that much, but it wasn't nearly as stressful as being a Gym Leader.

At least he was able to see Bea at school. She sometimes checked on him.

Bea was in her bedroom, lifting some weights while she sat on her bed. Allister couldn't go in and hug her while she was exercising; he had got his homework out with a sigh.

Now that he was done, he poked his head around the door of Bea's bedroom.

She was still lifting weights, her back turned to the door. He could scare her, but he didn't want to bother her.

He walked back to his bedroom. He looked around for Mimikyu, sighing as he saw it in the corner, asleep.

' 'M so bored…' he groaned.

He took his mask off and looked around his room. He found his favourite mask and put it on.

He felt a bit better, but it didn't stop him from being bored. He flopped onto his bed and pulled the duvet over himself.

A few minutes later he heard some footsteps. Bea has obviously finished her training.

'Al?' she said, wiping sweat off of her forehead.

Allister poked his head out of his duvet. '...Yeah..?'

She smiled at him. Then, her expression became serious.

'I need to go to the Isle of Armour for a bit. Mustard's just texted me. I'm really sorry.'

Allister looked at her sadly. 'That's ok…'

'You _could_ come with me, you haven't visited the island since the month you became Gym Leader.'

'I'll have t' be on...my own, th-though.' He bit his fingernails anxiously.

'Al, please try to not do that, you'll make them bleed again. Yes, you would… Maybe you shouldn't come with me.'

She straightened her headband and sat next to him on his bed.

'I could leave you on your own, but I might have to stay overnight… Maybe I could ask someone to come look after you?' She looked at him. 'Would that be okay?'

'Um… D'pends w-who it is…'

Allister shivered. He had one of Bea's friends babysit him in the past and he hated it. She just didn't understand him.

'Maybe we could ask Melony? No, she's busy. Maybe… Nessa?'

Allister shook his head. 'Nessa… She's nice 'n all, b-but…'

'She's probably busy anyway. Hmm… Milo would probably say yes… everyone else would say no. Well, maybe Raihan would, but you know what he's like…'

'Milo… Wooloo man… Is he…n-nice?'

'He is! You've talked to him a few times, remember?'

'Yeah…'

'Should I message him? Or…' She glanced at the Galarian Corsola themed clock that hung on his wall. 'I really need to get going.'

'Umm…'

Allister didn't want to be stuck at home with a stranger, but if she really had to go… 

He didn't want to be stuck at home on his own if Bea had to stay the night. He didn't know how to cook. He'd just be eating cereal and snacks all day.

'S-Sure…'

Bea hugged him. Allister had everything except his head wrapped in his duvet, so he couldn't hug her back, but enjoyed it.

It was a quick hug, because Bea had to get up and pack a bag.

'Why do y-you have t' go..?' Allister asked her when she had finished packing.

'There are a few rock Pokémon who are throwing large boulders about… We need to use my Pokémon to move them out the way while Gordie tries to find out what is causing this.'

Bea got out her phone and quickly wrote something.

'I've just asked Milo if he could come over and look after you. If says yes, I'll tell him about everything he needs to know, don't worry.'

Allister unwrapped the duvet from himself and hugged her. 

'Love you, Bea..!'

'Love you too, Al.' she replied happily, wrapping her arms around him for a few seconds. 'Now, be safe, alright?'

* * *

Milo had replied. He said yes, he could, as he had nothing important to do. 

Bea quickly called him in the taxi because it would be at least an hour and a half till she reached the island.

'Hello!' Milo greeted with his kind voice.

'Hello, Milo. My brother, Allister, is at home all by himself because of what's going on in the island.'

'That's not good. So you want me to look after him?'

'Yes, please, I'd you can.'

'Sure! Let me just finish- Woah, Barbara, please calm down.' 

Bea could hear some excited bleating coming out of her phone's speaker. 

'I said calm down!' he chuckled. 'Anyway, I can go once I finish feeding the Wooloo.

'Thank you, I'll text you our address. I need to tell you a few things first, though. You need to be quite quiet around Allister. He hates loud noises. He is very picky, so he'll probably have some tomato soup for dinner. He won't even take his mask off for sleeping, so don't expect him to show his face.'

She paused for a bit, before continuing. 

'He can take his own meds now, so you don't have to give them to him yourself. He has school, so you can leave once he's gone as I'll most likely be home by the time he gets home. Avoid going into his bedroom if you can. If you have to talk to him, please just stand in the doorway.'

Milo nodded, even though she couldn't see. 'Alright. I'll be there soon.'

'Thank you so much. There is a guest bedroom right next to mine, please do not sleep on the sofa.'

* * *

Allister wrapped himself up in his duvet. He has taken his favourite mask off, putting it in the special place it usually was in.

He jumped as he heard the front door open. Milo was here.

He got out of his bed and looked down at the hallway from upstairs. Milo had packed a large backpack, which was around the same size of Allister, maybe a bit smaller. It looked heavy, but that wasn't a problem for someone like Milo.

'I'm here!' he called out. He tried his best to keep his voice as quiet as he could.

Allister quietly sprinted into his bedroom.

'No response? Alright, no worries.'

Allister jumped onto his bed and hugged his knees.

He heard Milo heavily walking up the stairs. He heard him walk into the guest bedroom, putting his heavy bag onto the bed.

Allister went under his covers again, curling up into a little ball. 

Half an hour later, he heard Milo walk towards his bedroom. He froze.

Milo poked his head in. 'Hello, Allister.' He smiled at the little lump in the Gengar patterned duvet. 

Allister made a small noise in response.

'I'll be staying here for the night, okay?'

'...Okay…'

Milo looked around Allister's room. The walls were mostly the light purple that was on his gym uniform, with a ghostly purple feature wall.

He had Ghost-type themed items everywhere; A Gengar duvet, a night light in the shape of a Sinistea, a bed frame that had a few Mimikyu painted on it…

And there were masks. Loads of masks. They were everywhere, their see-through eyes staring at Milo.

He shivered, but smiled. His room was cute and creepy. But most importantly, it was cosy.

'Alright, enjoy your rest.'

'Mhmmm…'

* * *

'Okay, Machamp, move that rock to there.' Bea ordered, pointing to an empty patch of grass.

Machamp did what she ordered.

Gordie was sitting on a log, looking perplexed.

'I don't know what is causing this.' he said, shaking his head. 'They seem to be annoyed at something. Someone.'

Bea put a small boulder down. 'They do.'

'Have you got any ideas, Klara?' Gordie looked over at the pink haired woman.

'Me? Nope! Sorr-ee!'

Bea shook her head and sighed. 'What about your friend? Avery, was it?'

Klara looked shocked. 'Me? Friends with Avery?! No! That man is rude, annoying, stupid…' 

Bea and Gordie ignored her as she continued to insult Avery.

'There may have been some kind of argument. Something and a Rock-type maybe?' Bea crossed her arms and sat down on a rock, deep in thought.

'Maybe. That might be it, actually.' 

The dojo students watched them from the steps of Mustard's dojo, eating their lunch.

Hyde, the child of Mustard and his wife Honey, was swinging his legs and playing with some kind of gadget he had invented.

'Maybe you should talk to some of the Pokémon.' he suggested.

'What? You want us to talk to Pokémon..?' Gordie said, shaking his head.

'My brother can talk to Ghost-types. It isn't like humans can't talk to them. However, we can't talk to Rock-types. Understand them, I mean.'

'You can still kind of understand what they're saying.' Hyde said, not looking up from his gadget.

'True… Well, Gordie? When I've done moving these boulders with my Pokémon, we could go talk to the Pokémon. I know it sounds crazy, but it might work. No harm in giving it a try.'

Gordie sighed. 'I think it's a bad idea, but I don't know what else to do, so, alright…'

* * *

Allister groped around for Mimikyu's claw. He couldn't find it, so he sat up and poked his masked face out of his duvet.

Mimikyu had fallen asleep on his bedside cabinet.

He couldn't wake it up. It was too sleepy.

Sighing, he reached out and slipped the ribbon Bea had tied his birthday present with around his wrist.

After a few minutes of lying in silence, his stomach started growling. Allister got out of his bed and walked to the stairs.

He felt anxious. He was really hungry, but…

He jumped as he felt something cold gently push his back. His Mimikyu had woken up.

It was telling him to go down. Everything would be fine, it told him, Milo was a nice person.

Allister slowly tiptoed down the stairs, holding onto the handrail.

He walked into the kitchen and quietly opened a cupboard. He looked at the snacks inside and eventually grabbed a small bag of crisps.

He was just about to go back upstairs when he heard Milo's heavy footsteps get closer to him. He froze.

'Hey, Allister! Nice to see you again. Hungry?'

Allister jumped. He avoided eye contact with the farmer, staring at his bare feet.

' I-I guess…' he mumbled in reply. ' 'M fine, th-though. G-Got some crisps…'

'Alright, if you need anything, I'll be down here, okay?'

'Oh...kay...'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will continue the plot :3
> 
> I am sorry about the fact I am a day late, life is busy and all.
> 
> For those of you who are wondering if I am going to continue Brother of a Gym Leader, I am!


	7. Grass and Rocks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your support! I hope you are all enjoying this story so far.
> 
> Once again, constructive criticism is welcomed. Pointing out mistakes is a great thing to do, and if something plot related doesn't match up with an earlier chapter, I can fix it!

Gordie, Bea and a few of the dojo students walked into the Forest of Focus.

A Geodude was angrily lying down on some moss, crossing its arms.

'Look, there's a Geodude.' Gordie pointed.

'Maybe it could tell us what's going on?' a dojo student said. 

'Maybe.' said Bea, straightening her headband.

'I'll talk to it.' a girl with hair buns offered.

'Sure.' Gordie shrugged.

'Hey, Geodude. What's up?' 

The Geodude glared at her and punched, the girl narrowly missing it.

'Well. Told you it would be a bad idea.'

Bea sighed. 'There must be _something_ we can do.'

The girl with hair buns nodded in agreement. 'Yes. There has to be at least something… It feels like someone has upset them. Something's not right, is it?'

'No… I wonder what's up?' Bea pondered, her hand on her chin.

* * *

Allister scrunched up his crisp packet for the hundredth time, watching it slowly open back up.

He was already missing Bea. He hoped she would be back soon.

It was dinnertime, and he was starving. Did he want to go down and ask Milo to cook him something? No. He was too shy.

The other kids in his class wouldn't struggle with things like this. Most of them would be really interested in talking to Milo, since he was a Gym Leader.

He sighed and rolled over in his bed. Why couldn't he just be a normal person? He wondered what kind of person he would be without his mask. Maybe he didn't need it..?

He shook his head violently. No, he was already normal. If he didn't wear his mask, he wouldn't even be able to step one foot out of the house. He needed it.

He took it off, staring at it. He smiled. So what if he had to wear a mask every single day of his life? It was what made him happy.

He tried to avoid looking at himself in the mirror. He wasn't used to seeing his actual face.

He lay in silence for a bit. 

The sun was going down. It was dinnertime. He wanted to lie down for a bit longer, but his stomach growled loudly and Mimikyu woke up.

It told him to go ask Milo for some dinner. Allister shook his head. Mimikyu tugged at his sleeve and made a noise that sounded like an angry squeak.

Allister sighed and put his mask back on. He made sure that it was firmly on before he started to slowly and quietly walk down the stairs.

Milo turned his head towards him as soon as he stepped through the door of the lounge. He picked up the remote and paused the farming show he was watching.

'Allister, do you want anything to eat?' he asked, smiling kindly.

'Um, y-yeah…' He fiddled with his long sleeves.

'Alright. What do you want?'

'Um… Maybe some chips..?' 

Milo got up and walked towards the kitchen. 

'Want anything else with the chips?' Milo asked, smiling at Allister. 

Allister shook his head. 'N-No.'

'Alright then. Have you ever played Uno?' 

'W-What..?'

'It's a card game. I was thinking we could play something to pass the time while our food is cooking.'

Allister took a step back. 'Umm…'

'If you don't want to play anything, I don't mind.'

'No, I'll...play it.'

Milo smiled and went to put some dinner on.

* * *

Bea was sitting in the room Mustard had let her stay in. She lifted a few light weights, thinking about how ways she and Gordie could stop the Rock-types from throwing rocks around.

'It seems like there is something not right about...something. We'll hopefully find that something out…' she said out loud to herself.

'I wonder if Allister is ok. He should be, Milo's probably cooking him dinner by now.'

She sighed as she heard a loud bang from the room next to her and a curse word.

The dojo student next to her wouldn't be quiet. She tried to meditate earlier, but she couldn't. He was being too loud.

Gordie was the other side of the student, so she was sure he would be moaning about the noise in the morning.

'I should message Al.' she randomly said to herself.

She put her weights away and got out her orange Rotom phone.

She texted him, _Hey Al, how are you?_

Miles away, Allister felt his small phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and smiled.

 _I'm fine._ he replied. 

_Have you had dinner yet?_ she replied back.

_No, it's um in the oven._

_Alright. I'll hopefully be back tomorrow._

* * *

After their dinner and a few games of Uno, Milo and Allister were finally having a proper conversation.

'So… you have loads of Wooloo, r-right?'

'Yeah! I have whole fields full of those Pokémon.'

'...Isn't it annoyin' when they r-roll all over t' place..? Don't some try t' 'escape..?'

'Nah, it isn't annoying. I just get my Yamper to herd them back. Some do try to escape, but they don't do it often.'

Allister yawned and hugged his knees. Milo could hear the yawn and he glanced at the clock.

'Do you want an early night tonight?'

Allister shook his head. 'I'll… go up in a b-bit, but I won't sleep. I like bein' in bed with Mimikyu for a while before I t-try to go to sleep...'

'Alright. So, what's it like having a Mimikyu? According to the Poké-dex, one look at the creature under the rag will kill you.'

'I mean… It's nice. Mimikyu's always there f-for me. I love 'im.' He paused, before continuing. ' 'N that's true…'

Milo's eyes widened a bit. 'How do you make sure you don't look under it?'

Allister shrugged. 'I'm just… careful.'

There was a long silence, before Allister spoke.

'...Did you know that th-there is a one in a million chance 'f a ghost to not be a wisp of purple fire..?' 

'What?'

'Yeah, 'n there is a one in t-two million chance that...t' ghost will be visible t' normal people.'

Milo blinked. 'Well. That's interesting.'

'Bea d-doesn't know that… Don't wanna scare her…'

'I'm sure she wouldn't be scared.'

'Sh-She would worry 'bout the ghosts trying t' talk to me. They do it sometimes… I ignore t-them.'

There was a long silence after he had said that. Milo had never talked to anyone like Allister before.

* * *

It was morning and Bea had just woken up. She was just getting dressed when someone knocked loudly on her door.

'Hey Bea! I know why they are doing that. The Rock-types.'

Bea opened her door and saw a short, white haired boy looking at her.

'Oh? You do?' 

The boy rubbed his nose with his pale hand. 'Yep! Oh um, sorry 'bout last night. I'm in the room next to you y'see, and I knocked over my heavy backpack, hahah!'

Bea rubbed the back of her unbrushed hair and looked at him with a confused expression on her face.

'So you know why they are doing that?' she asked.

' 'Course! They are mad at a pink haired woman.'

'Klara?'

'If that's her name, then yep.'

Bea shook her head. 'But why?'

The boy shrugged. 'I don't know. I watched it out of my window. She wanted a Graveler to move out of the way and she started to battle it and then it all went crazy...'

He paused, looking around nervously to check if Klara was listening to them.

'They seem to have calmed down now you and Gordie have come.' he continued. 'I wonder if they are scared of you two..? You an' Gordie.'

Bea sighed. 'Maybe. Anything's possible. Should we go ask her if it was her? You could be lying.'

The boy shook his head. 'No, I'm not lying. And, well, I can try…'

Bea yawned. 'I'm just going to finish getting ready. I apologise.'

'No, no! It's okay! I'll try to find her and maybe make her promise to… Hmm, maybe to never upset a Pokémon again?'

' "I'll"? You're going to ask her yourself?'

'Yup, I can ask her myself.'

'Okay, then.'

Bea closed her door and sighed.

* * *

Allister woke up and stretched. Another day at school...

He was about to call for Bea when he remembered that Milo was here instead.

Milo suddenly knocked on his door, making him jump. It seemed like he had woken up at the right time.

'Time to get ready!' Milo said in a kind voice.

He rolled over and sighed. 'Okay…'

He sat up and got out of bed, getting his school uniform out of the cupboard and putting it on.

The uniform had a dark green jumper with a white polo shirt, which didn't suit him at all. He wore some black trousers with purple lines going up and down the legs with them, and the shoes he wore in his Gym.

The jumper was optional because Stow-On-Side was always so warm, but Allister didn't like his arms uncovered so he wore it whenever he could.

He has a special mask just for school, and he had an extra in his purple backpack just in case.

He took off his mask and put on his school one, making sure it was firmly on. 

They all looked the same, but since this one had a small unnoticeable crack near his ear (which had been filled with glue), it felt different.

He walked out of his room and brushed his teeth, getting toothpaste foam on his mask. He wiped it off.

He went down the stairs, walking into the living room. Milo was watching some farming program in some comfy clothes.

'Good morning, Allister! Smart uniform you have.' 

Allister sneezed and mumbled a quiet thanks.

He went to the kitchen to make himself a small bowl of cereal. He sprinkled his meds into it, sighing. After he had eaten it, he grabbed his school bag.

'M-Milo..? Can you walk...me t-to school?' he asked nervously.

'Sure! As long as you lead the way, I haven't been in Stow-On-Side for ages.'

Milo walked into the hallway and Allister followed him. 

'I-I know where to go…'

They made their way to Allister's school. Everyone stared at them, excited to see Milo. Allister and Bea weren't a rare sight in Stow-On-Side, but Milo was.

He happily waved at people. Allister started sweating a little.

'Sorry about the fact I am making people stare at us.' said Milo, an apologetic smile on his face.

'Huh? Oh, um… It's alright…' Allister replied, grasping the straps of his backpack even harder than before.

Allister pointed to his school's entrance when he saw it. 'That's my school.'

Milo looked at the small boy and smiled. 'Have a good day!'

Allister smiled back, hoping his eyes showed it. 'I will..!'

* * *

Bea and Gordie were sitting down on the front steps of the dojo. Bea was texting the school about her not being able to come in, and Gordie was eating his breakfast.

They could hear Klara arguing with someone, and Bea thought that the person she was arguing with sounded a lot like that boy she talked to earlier.

'Still can't believe it was Klara.' Bea said, turning off her phone.

She pulled a healthy breakfast bar out of her pocket and unwrapped it.

'Me neither.' Gordie replied.

'The Rock-types aren't mad anymore.' Bea added, watching a Rockruff happily play with a Geodude.

There was a few seconds of silence before Bea spoke again.

'Who is that boy? The one who told me about this?'

'Jacob?' Gordie asked.

'Yes, if that's his name.'

'He's my cousin. Nice kid, a bit crazy.'

There was some more silence. It wasn't an awkward one, they had nothing to say.

Klara had finally stopped arguing and Jacob came out and grinned at them both.

'Hah! I just made her promise to never _ever_ upset a Pokémon like that again. Whether she'll keep that promise is...unknown, but still! And I only joined the dojo two days ago!'

'See what I mean?' said Gordie.

'Hey! Big cuz, that's not nice!'

Bea checked the time on her phone. She sighed and got up. 

'I need to go back to Stow-On-Side now. Al will be waiting for me.'

'Okay! Byeee!' Jacob sang. He waved goodbye, his arm a blur.

'Tell Mustard that I had to go.' 

'Right. Will do. Goodbye!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am just going to hope and pray that I got everyone's personality right.


	8. Sibling Hugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so in the first chapter's notes I wrote that I would fix grammar and spelling errors. I haven't yet, oops!
> 
> I am now going to use proper speech marks. I will add them into previous chapters, don't worry.

Allister ran towards his house. Bea would be back by now.

Smiling, he opened the door and scanned the hallway.

‘ 'M home!’ he called out hopefully.

‘Allister!’ replied a voice from the kitchen.

‘Bea!’ he called back, running as fast as he could to the kitchen.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly when he saw her. She returned the hug, smiling.

‘Welcome home..!’

‘Thanks! I made you some cookies, even though I'm a terrible cook.’

Allister looked at the kitchen island and saw a tray of warm, fresh cookies on it. His mouth started watering.

‘Th-Thanks! They look really tasty..!’

He unwrapped his arms and grabbed a cookie from the tray. He bent it in half so he could eat it without having to take his mask off.

Bea picked up a cookie and started to eat it.

‘So was Milo a good babysitter?’ she asked, reaching for another one.

‘Mhm! Y-Yeah, he's cool.’

Bea smiled. ‘Good.’

They stood in silence for a minute, Bea leaning against the counter and Allister with his arm around her.

‘Why were t' Rock-types angry..?’ asked Allister. 

‘Oh, this woman named Klara… She made one mad.’

‘...Is Klara that woman who, um…’ He struggled to remember. ‘...sold that…album called Krazy for Klara..?’

Bea nodded. ‘Yes, that's the one. She is… interesting.’

Allister picked up another cookie. Bea shook her head.

‘You've had three cookies. You'll get sick if you eat another one.’

He sighed and put it back down onto the tray. ‘Okay…’

‘...I missed you.’ he said, looking up into her gray eyes.

‘I did too, Al.’ she replied, wrapping an arm around him.

‘Bein' a Gym Leader is fun till...people start t' ask you t' help them. Then you have to go away...’

‘Yeah. Being a Gym Leader is a lot of fun, but I hate it when people expect me to help them to carry their shopping…’

* * *

Bea and Allister were walking home from the park one evening. A six year old Allister was looking at the stars in the sky, while Bea was checking something on her Rotom phone.

A woman walked past them, carrying four heavy bags of shopping. She noticed the two siblings and smiled. She walked over to them, panting.

‘Hello, Gym Leader. May you help me with my bags?’

Allister jumped, made a noise that sounded like an anxious squeak, and grabbed onto Bea.

Bea was taken aback. ‘No, I have to take my brother home.’

‘But please? You're stronger than me! I have to walk miles to get home.’

‘You should get a Pokémon to help you.’

‘A Pokémon? Nah, I hate those things. Please? You're the Gym Leader. You help people, right?’

The woman tried to put a bag into Bea's hand.

‘I'm really sorry, but we have to go.’ Bea replied, pulling her brother up onto her strong shoulders.

‘No! My arms hurt!’ the woman called after Bea as she jogged away.

* * *

Allister giggled. ‘T-That was funny.’

Bea laughed. ‘Yeah.’

Allister suddenly jumped, his eyes wide. ‘Crumbs! I forgot th-that I have…homework!’

‘Oh, do you need any help with that?’ Bea asked.

‘Nah… It's just...simple literacy. I'll get changed first…’

Bea knew how much he hated his uniform. 

‘Alright, if you need any help I'll be here, okay?’

‘Okay..!’ he replied as he walked out of the room.

* * *

Allister chewed on the end of his pencil as he answered the final question.

He brushed off the bits of rubber on his T-shirt and sighed with relief. He had finished his homework. It had taken longer than he thought it would, but he had done it.

His Mimikyu was sleeping happily next to him, snoring quietly.

The sun had set; moonlight was flooding his room.

He got up and walked over to his window. He sat on the ledge, his masked face pressed against the glass.

Bea poked her head round his bedroom door.

‘Have you finished your homework?’ She had obviously heard his footsteps.

He turned around to look at her.

‘Yeah..!’

‘That's great, Al.’ she smiled warmly.

She walked over to the window and sat down next to him.

‘Anything interesting going on outside of the window?’ she asked.

‘No… Well, I've only just...sat down.’

Bea noticed something. She pointed at some Falinks crossing the road. ‘Look, Falinks.’

The two siblings watched them cross the road.

‘I wonder how they all fit in one Poké ball.’ Bea mused.

Allister nuzzled into her. She wrapped her arms around him.

‘Hey Bea?’

‘Hmm?’

‘You're t' bestest sister...in t' world.’

Bea smiled. ‘Thank you. You're the best brother in the world.’

‘...Even though…we're not related..?’

‘We are related, Al. We may not be related by blood, but we are related by heart.’ 

Bea hugged him slightly tighter.

Allister smiled. ‘Y-Yeah!’

Bea pointed out the window and smiled. ‘Look! A Pumpkaboo is floating down the street.’

They watched it float into a dark alley.

‘Stow-On-Side really comes to life at night.’ Bea said as she watched a Nickit run across the dusty road.

‘Most towns d-do.’ Allister replied, smiling.

‘Ghost-types prefer the night, don't they.’

‘Mmhm..!’

‘You prefer the night too. I prefer the day, because I can train more.’

Allister looked up at her. ‘...I don't know how y-you can do so much trainin'’

‘I'm just used to it, I guess.’

‘I can train m' Pokémon easily...Can't train m'self.’

Bea stroked his hair. ‘And you don't have to. You're a great Pokémon trainer, you know?’

‘Yeah… Sometimes I f-feel like...I'm not as good as you are at battlin', though.’

‘You are. You're as strong as me. Trust me.’

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the world go by.

‘Chairman R-Rose is really...creepy.’ Allister mumbled, breaking the silence.

‘I agree.’

Allister jumped.

‘You do?’

‘Mhm. He's a great man, but he can be really creepy sometimes.’

They continued to look out of the window together.

‘Right, Allister, we need to go to bed now. It's getting late.’ Bea said after a few minutes had passed.

Silence.

‘Al?’

She looked down. He had fallen asleep.

‘Aww… I'm really sorry, Al, but…’

She gently shook him awake.

‘Mmm..?’ he mumbled sleepily.

‘You fell asleep.’

‘Huh..? Sorry…’

She smiled. ‘It's okay. We need to get ready for bed. You can sleep all you want in your warm bed, yeah?’

‘Mhm..!’

* * *

Bea woke up and yawned. She groggily rubbed her eyes as she sat up.

She got ready and walked to Allister's bedroom. She poked her head around his door.

Allister wasn't there.

Panicking, she ran into his bedroom and checked everything. He wasn't in his wardrobe or under a pile of blankets, nor was he hiding under his bed…

‘Allister?’ Bea called out.

She waited a few seconds. There was no reply.

‘Allister?’ she called again, fear and panic in her voice.

‘Bea?’ a voice called back.

She ran out into the hallway and sprinted towards the direction the voice came from.

Allister was in the spare room, sitting on the floor. He quickly hid something under a pile of small books as she entered.

‘Al!’ Bea flung herself into him, hugging him tight.

‘Are you...okay..?’ he asked, hugging her back.

‘Yes… I am now. I thought you had gone missing.’

‘Oops…’

‘It's fine, I promise.’

Bea looked around the room and saw strips of orange and gold card on the floor.

‘What are you doing..?’

Allister jumped. ‘N-Nothing…’

‘Allister, are you making me a card?’

‘What-! Um, y-yeah..!’

‘What for..?’ Bea asked. Her birthday was ages away.

‘Um… For um… I'm makin' a card b'cause you're a great sister! And I wanted t' say thanks…’

She started to stroke his hair. ‘That's really sweet.’

Allister's cheeks went a pastel pink. Bea couldn't see, but his eyes were sparkling more than usual.

‘I'm sorry f' scaring you… Or, sorry for makin' you worry.’

‘No, it's fine!’

'Are you sure..?’

Bea pulled him into a hug.

‘I'm sure.’ she said. ‘I love you very much, I just worry about you. A lot.’

‘I love y-you a lot, too!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eight is my lucky number, so I wanted to write a short but sweet chapter. I appologise if it isn't as good as the others.


End file.
